Dutch women killed in Spanish helicopter crash

31 March 2004

AMSTERDAM — Two seriously injured Dutch women were killed on the Spanish island Gran Canaria on Tuesday when a trauma helicopter rushing them to hospital crashed.

The Spanish pilot, a Cuban doctor and a Spanish nurse also died when the helicopter hit high tension electrical cables, RTL Nieuws reported.

The women were injured earlier on Tuesday afternoon when a tour bus slid off an embankment and turned over in a ravine at San Bartolome de Tirajane in the south of the island, which is part of the Canary Islands.

The area was not easily accessible for the emergency services so the trauma helicopter was brought in to take the most seriously injured to hospital.

There were 33 tourists on the tour bus at the time, plus the driver and a tour guide, the Dutch Foreign Ministry in The Hague has confirmed. There are differing accounts as to whether all of the passengers or about half of them were Dutch.

The tourist helpline SOS International said the majority of the passengers were Dutch and were on a day trip to Chira Lake when the accident occurred, NOS News reported.

SOS International said 28 Dutch passengers were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

Subject: Dutch news